Two America’s Cup teams protest rule changes

Posted on July 2nd, 2013

An America’s Cup jury will hear protests from two teams that say the rules were changed too close to the race.

Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton said he will file for a verdict by the five-member America’s Cup jury, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Francesco Longanesi-Cattani, a spokesman for the Italian Luna Rossa syndicate, told the Chronicle his team would also file a protest.

The jury is slated to arrive Wednesday, four days before the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series begins July 7. Regatta director Iain Murray implemented rule changes as part of his safety recommendations following the fatal capsize of Artemis Racing’s AC72 catamaran May 9.

Oracle Team USA CEO Russell Coutts says the complaints are for competitive reasons.

“These guys love to sit around, argue about minutia,” he told the Chronicle. “They’re not doing it for safety reasons.”